1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle suspension systems, and, more particularly, to air spring helper kits which may be used with suspension systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle suspension systems are typically designed and constructed to include a balance of vehicle performance and ride quality or comfort. Depending upon the type and kind of vehicle upon which the suspension system is being used, this balance between performance and ride comfort may be more heavily weighted toward one condition than the other. In most cases, however, typical vehicle suspension systems are relatively well suited for operation under all normal driving conditions. For example, such conditions can include high-speed highway driving as well as traveling along a rough street or road at a relatively low speed.
Performance challenges for such typical suspension systems occur, however, under more extreme conditions. For example, a vehicle having a suspension system that is well balanced for performance and comfort is often not well suited for the very high speeds and accelerations associated with track usage. Similarly, such typical suspension systems are often not well adapted for conditions requiring large suspension travel, such as traversing off-road terrain, for example. Additionally, vehicle suspension systems that are well suited for either of such extreme performance conditions often do not provide a suitable balance of comfort and performance under normal driving conditions.
To overcome these and other issues and difficulties, vehicle suspension systems have been developed that provide balanced performance and ride comfort under normal driving conditions, but which are adaptable for use under conditions in which substantial wheel or axle articulation occurs. However, certain disadvantages exist with such known adaptable vehicle suspension systems, and these disadvantages can act to limit the application and use of such known adaptable vehicle suspension systems.
Air springs, or pneumatic suspension devices, have long been used to isolate road disturbances from a vehicle, seat, or cab. An air spring, as part of a vehicle's suspension can support the vehicle's load or mass at each axle. Typically, each axle of a vehicle associated with an air spring supports the mass component or load carried by the axle. In addition, there may be ancillary air springs that support driver comfort in and around the driver's compartment, or cab. In an air spring, a volume of gas, usually air, is confined within a flexible container. As an air spring is compressed (jounce travel), the pressure of the gas within the air spring increases; and as an air spring extends (rebound travel), the pressure of the gas within the air spring decreases. Road disturbances are mainly absorbed by this compression and extension of the air springs as a function of work (w=∫F·dx). Air springs are often engineered to have a specific spring rate or spring constant, thereby controlling jounce and rebound characteristics for the desired application and for comfort.
Air springs as described above typically include air lines which are connected to a corresponding air bag at one end thereof, and connected to an inflation valve at an opposite end thereof. The inflation valves allow more or less air to be selectively placed into the air bags, depending on the anticipated use of the vehicle. An inflation valve bracket in the form of a flat or L-shaped plate is bolted to the chassis at a selected location, and includes one or more holes for receiving the inflation valves therein. It is necessary to either drill through and/or tap the vehicle chassis so that a bolt can be used to attach the inflation valve bracket to the chassis.
What is needed in the art is a simpler and faster way of attaching an inflation valve bracket to the chassis of a vehicle.